Serial Experiments: Matt
by The Otaku-Metalhead
Summary: sorry it took so long but chapters 2 through 5 are up. RR as always and enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Rated M for Language, Violence, and Thematic Elements   
Serial Experiments: Matt 

A sequel

Written by: Edicius

Riding on wings on silicon 

_Across the lands where many have drowned_

_Archangels descendant_

_To bring salvation to the decadent_

_Man has forgotten the pleasures of the flesh_

_Just screams is all he has left_

_Tomes written in binary code_

_Each containing a electronic ode_

_Blood runs thicker than electricity_

_In an organic world can one be free_

_Riding upon the motherboard horse_

_Upon conquest like the ancient Norse_

_As the son of a God_

_I ride the lands in pride_

_To replace the ones of sod_

And give them life 

Acknowledgements: My family, friends, pets, and other significant beings. All the music I listen to during this little story. And, of course, all who review me. Thanks!

To Kagale-chan: I wish I could be the one, but I wish you happiness anyway. I'll always be your friend regardless. To Curt: Sorry man, but this is the only story I can really show you that I'm not afraid you'll be offended.

Chapter 01

"Navi, do I have any mail?" I asked although I knew the answer as soon as the words left my lips.

"There's no mail for Matt." Said the computer in a lifeless voice, almost as if it was bored with my incessant questioning. With a sigh I rose from the chair, a thing that might have been made with the attempt of being comfortable but along the way someone fucked with the design to make a half-assed thing that could loosely be referred to as furniture. I didn't know why I checked the Navi for mail, but then again why the hell did I have the thing to begin with? It's only purpose seemed to be to answer my archetypical question with a formulaic answer. Other than that, it slept, dreaming dreams of one who would use it to log into the Wired, Reading mail of a person who got more than the occasional porno spam, and of course being regularly updated. Looking at the neon green lights of my alarm clock I noticed I would be late for school…Again. Chester A. Arthur Middle school set in Cleveland, Ohio loomed above me as I walked a dejected shuffle towards it. School, like the life of my Navi, was formulaic, and above all, boring. I had no friends so to speak of, just because I didn't feel it worthwhile to integrate with humans. All they seemed to care about was video games, some stupid thing they did the day before, or the occasional blab about Navis. Nothing I cared about, seeing as I never played games, or the only thing I did the night before was eat, watch some boring show on TV, and sleep, and I just didn't care for Navis. The classroom greeted me with an assembly line atmosphere similar to my boring life. Some people looked lively, despite the fact that something in the air said that this "personality" they enjoy would be sucked out in the meat grinder known as public education. Even the teacher looked bored with her life, with a face that, if I didn't know any better, suggested she was contemplating suicide. She turned around and began to write on the board saying a lecture that I'm sure she said about a million times beforehand. Her drone was said to induce drowsiness in ten minutes (five in the summertime) flat. In fact as I glanced around the room I noticed several kids start to nod off, others had a face like their minds were wiped clean of any means of expression. Others of course clung on every word she said scribbling notes so fast I was surprised the papers weren't protruding liberal amounts of smoke into the air. Sighing deeply I decided to just doodle in my notebook and look like I was paying attention. The bell rang in which I got into a new dejected shuffle (a bit of a pattern here, huh?) to the next class, then the next one…. Blah Blah Blah Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

After eight periods of unprofitable boredom I left to go home where I would eat dinner, as Navi my twice-a-day question and then, suddenly I heard someone call out "Hey, you." Looking around I all of a sudden realized this was addressed to me. Walking over to the girl that called out my name (and the two boys sitting next to her) I wondered what was this all about. The girl looked pleased that I came over, the boys looked like they couldn't care less.

"I just wanted to ask if you were doing anything tonight." She said a gleam coming to her eyes. I sighed a little before giving my answer.

"Not really, I don't have much of anything going on, why?"

"Well, It's just that I was wondering if you would like to go to this new club that just opened up. It called Cyberworld and it plays some great techno music if you're interested. That is, of course if you want to." She said with an almost pleading look in the sapphire jewels that were her eyes, surrounded almost casually by a mess of red hair.

"Well, I'll think about it. Do you suppose I could mail you via PDA later?"

"Sure My address is I whipped out my PDA and wrote it in my otherwise empty address book.

"Well, mine is I said as she in turn scrawled the address in her pocket computer.

"So you have a name to go along with that address I gave you, my names Jenn, and yours is?"

"Matt…" I said as I finished entering the info into my PDA. "Okay, so I guess I'll mail you later than." I said walking away. I wondered why such a girl would be asking me to go to a club.

"I'm home." I said walking through the door of our rather expansive house. We were able to get such a home because my Dad was a programmer of some sort.

"Hey, Matt, your new Navi just came it, we could set it up after dinner okay?"

"Yeah, about that, can we just set it up now to get it over with."

"Why the rush?"

"Well, It's just that I think I'll be going out later tonight. So it's probably best that we get this stuff set up ASAP."

"Sure, why not?" My dad said with a doofy grin that betrayed his age, he looked like an overgrown kid.

An hour later I had a state of the art machine running right in front of me. And I didn't care. Dad showed me how to register it, I checked my mail, of course. To my surprise I found it not empty, but with a message from "Jennifer Asher", I figured that was the same Jenn I met earlier today. "Open it…" I said in a voice that held a little excitement.

_"Matt, are you going or not? I'm leaving in two hours, I hope to have your response by then, OK?"_

Letting out another sigh, I said quite sternly "respond".

"Sure, I'll be there in an hour and a half, I'll call you on my cellphone to ask for directions when I get downtown. See you then!"

Note: Jenn's Email address isn't real as far as I know, but is my own, mail me if you wish. NO HATE MAIL!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 02

Pulsing techno beats, luminescent lights, and sweaty bodies. The sights of the club might have been a comfort to my compatriots, but it was nerve racking for myself. Everywhere people moved their bodies in time with the long winding music, and loud chatter could barely heard above the music. I shrunk into a corner not willing to mingle with the crowd in anyway. I wasn't even dressed right as Nick harshly reminded me.

"My god, Matt! You're dressed in fucking jeans and a T-shirt when you're going to a CLUB?" Each note of his retort struck me like arrows, but the truth is I never cared much for clothes and I thought Jeans and a T-shirt were rather appropriate. I didn't really have much of anything else to wear.

"It's okay, Matt." Said Jenn soothingly "I'll just take you shopping to prepare for going inside." All of a sudden I was whisked in some strange shop, and walked out wearing a black T-shirt, Pants that were almost impossible to walk in, thanks to the innumerable chains that were sewn on them, and a fishnet shirt over it. I imagined myself with an anime sweatdrop sliding down the back of my head as I walked out into the street, to an almost musical jangling of the chains.

"What the hell Jenn?" I asked her in disbelief.

"What, I think it suits you." She said going on the defensive. Turning to Ben for support she asked "What do you think, Ben?" He shrugged and I don't think he seemed to care. Nick gave me a malicious smirk out of the corner of his mouth. Me not being used to the weight being put on my lower body walked clumsily with my acquaintances towards the towering building surrounded by bright neon lights. I all of sudden felt like I was on a bad acid trip or something. As I opened the plain metal door a rush of techno met me in a strange wave; this was something I was NOT used to. So there I was huddled in a corner like a puppy cowering from an abusive owner. I felt someone tug at my arm and glanced up to see Jenn try to guide me onto the dance floor. Seeing as I was scared as shit, had two left feet, and couldn't possibly maneuver in time with the music given what I was wearing.

"COME ON MATT!" Screamed Jenn over the music "YOU JUST GOTTA GET INTO IT!"

"FORGET IT! I CAN'T FUCKING DANCE TO SAVE MY LIFE!" She still tugged at my arm and a tranquil, atmospheric song blared over the speakers as she succeeded to get my ass in the middle of that floor. She started swaying her body in ways that were completely foreign to me, and I did my best to try and mimic her movements, and tripped over the hem of my pants. I could see Jenn shake her head as she showed me how to dance, I guess. Before I knew it though I lost myself in the slow theme, and the vision of a tranquil winters night, walking alone as the snow gently drifted down to kiss the ground, thinking thoughts, what thoughts though, all that filled my mind was the music. In the horizon I could see the neon blues and greens of a distant city, they were hypnotizing in their glow, and the snow seemed to agree, for it slowly drifted towards the city in a gentle mesmerized march. I took my first shaky step towards the city, each kept in time with the beat of the endless tune playing in my mind, with each passing step the feeling of being alone waned, for I could sense the presence of a girl not much younger than myself walking with me. As I moved closer I could hear these words playing in my head.

_"Matt, come for me. Come meet me in the wired."_

I turned to my right to see a little girl with auburn hair, and eyes that deceived the childlike appearance of her body. She looked up at me with a pleading look in her eyes. She held out her hand encouraging me to take it. As I reached I heard a loud bang echo through the world, and the image of the girl shattered like a window.

All of a sudden I was back in the club, and I saw people running towards the door in a stampede. One man was standing in the center, above a bloody body whom I did not recognize. This man looked disheveled and he had a look of extreme panic in his eyes. For some reason I felt drawn to him, though I could hear Jenn's panicked cries of "Matt, come back!" He looked absolutely terrified at the sight of me, though I couldn't understand why.

"STAY BACK DEMON!" He screamed at me in a voice that seemed to be of him being possessed by one of the aforementioned demons. "Don't haunt me anymore." He kept on yelling, his voice seemed to be on the verge of tears. During this whole thing I didn't even seem to be there. Almost I was watching this from a TV screen. All of a sudden I began to speak. It was weird though, it wasn't like I was really speaking, but someone used my mouth to speak for themselves.

"You will never escape, for we are all connected in the Wired." At these words the man turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger. The slap of warm blood and gray matter seemed to jerk me out of my reverie. I felt a tug at my arm and saw Jenn pulling me to the exit door.

Two hours later I was sitting in the police station while the officer read my information to me in a stream of information that barely registered in my numb little mind.

The words "We tried to call your parents but they didn't seem to be home" did however. I figured they went out for a little and wouldn't be back until the crack of dawn. Not wanting to relive the events of the night, and fortunate enough to have a house key, I asked one of the officers if they could drive me home.

As I figured the house was completely abandoned when I arrived, not wanting to do anything but sleep I went to bed and completely crashed without even changing out of my street clothes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 03

I didn't sleep well that night. All throughout my sleep I kept seeing the guy from the club blowing his brains out over and over again. And when he subsided the girl from my vision walked towards me with the same pleading look in her eyes as before.

All she kept saying was "_Why don't you come? I've left the door wide open for you. All you have to do is find it._"

To this I responded "_But where is this door you're talking about? Why must I come to the wired to see you? Listen, I want to see you but I don't know how. Hell, I don't even know your name, though you seem to know mine._"

She closed her eyes at these words as though she was deep in thought. Than she opened them and said "_My name is Lain. Look in your locker at school. I'm sure the Knights have left you a little present._"

"_Who are the Knights? What did they leave me? Lain, what does this have to do with me coming to the Wired?_"

"_Everything…_" She said, and all of a sudden my ears filled with the cacophony of my alarm clock and Lain faded from my sight as I opened my eyes.

Later at school I resumed my daily trudging through my life, living day by day with no real purpose. During 3rd period my cellphone rang up a text message

_Matt,_

_If you ha_ve _lunch 4th period, come meet me at the lobby. I want to talk about last night with you._

_Jenn_

I texted her back saying I would meet her there. So 4th came with the rush of pubescent carnivores ready to eat whatever slop the cafeteria had to offer today. In the lobby I saw a flock of red hair which clued me in to Jenn's location. She looked like I felt, basically. Her eyes were red and puffy as though she had been crying all night, she had circles under her eyes that gave her the appearance of a raccoon, and she slumped in apparent exhaustion against the wall. However she greeted me with a small smile when I approached her, and hugged me tightly.

"What's going on Jenn?" I asked when we parted the embrace.

"Well, how do you feel about last night?"

"What do you mean?" I asked completely confused as to why she would ask such a cryptic question "What happened last night was terrible! I mean what the hell could cause someone to snap like that!" I exclaimed. Tears welled up in her eyes again as she explained the meaning to her cryptic attitude.

"Well, it's just that Nick and Ben don't seem to care. They all act like he was some crackhead who had an overdose and went insane. But after seeing something like that how could they be so nonchalant about the whole situation?" At this point the tears overwhelmed her and I pulled her close as she wrapped her arms around me, silent as the tears streamed down her face. All the while I couldn't help but think about what the hell was wrong with those two. "…And then I had this weird dream last night about some little girl…"

"What do you mean?" I said with a note of fear coming into my voice.

"Well, it was this girl with auburn hair and a braid on one side, she looked so young but at the same time she looked so old. All the while she was telling me to 'guide Matt into the wired' or something."

"Jenn…" I said backing away from her "…I saw the same girl before the guy killed himself and again in my dreams last night." The both of us got really quiet afterwards and didn't talk until we parted, I decided then it would probably be a good Idea to check my locker.

Except for my schoolbooks the entire thing seemed empty and blank. I never saw the point of decorating my locker for I only had one year left in middle school and it didn't seem to be worth my trouble. I was about to close it I heard Lain's voice say "_Look at the top._" After a quick glance around to see if anyone was watching I reached into the top shelf and pulled down a plain brown envelope like the ones used in offices to transfer papers, with the message "_Something you might find fun._" written on it. Opening it I reached inside to withdraw a small computer chip. I was completely clueless as to why I might find it fun, but I'd figure I'd go to Cyberworld and ask if there was anybody who knew what the hell was it.

Wearing another one of Jenn's strange outfits I went inside the club to the blast of techno that I guess was common place. Over in the corner I saw three "gothicky" girls huddled over laptop. Figuring they might be able to help me I walked over to them. They took one look at me as I approached and rolled their eyes, but one was looking at me strangely as she asked what she could do for me.

"I was hoping you could tell me what this is." I said withdrawing the chip out of my pocket. The girl's pupils widened to the size of quarters.

"How did you get that?" She asked me with impression in her voice.

"Sent to me. I have no fucking clue what is though."

"This is the most advanced processor out there, what's you navi's model." I told her only to here a sharp intake of breath. "If you have an Intrigue installing this puppy will be easy. What grade are you in?"

"8th, but what has that got to do with anything."

"Chester Arthur Middle?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Chapter 7 in the basic computer knowledge textbook you got last year will tell you how to install it." She finished.

"Really? Thanks!" I said turning to walk away.

"But…" She said stopping me "…this info will come at a price. Luckily you look pretty cute so how's about a date."

At once I lost control of my body as some unknown entity took over "A date, huh? Sorry, but I already have a girlfriend." "I" said leaving her speechless both by "my" sneering tone and the message that they carried. As I came home I found Jenn waiting outside my front door.

"Hey Matt!" She said greeting me with her usual energetic self.

"Jenn, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at home?" I asked her.

"I can't… After last night I realized all I wanted to do was spend a little time with you. If that's alright with you I mean. Your parent's already said it was fine…"

"Sure, why not?" I asked a smile coming to my face, despite myself, But as I said that I remembered what "I" said back in the club. No, it couldn't mean that I… "Besides…" I said to get the confusing thoughts out of my head "…I actually could use some help with something if you don't mind."

An half-an-hour later the navi was stripped to it's skeleton and Jenn had the textbook opened to chapter 7. She blushed as she read the line "to prevent static shock to the inside of your navi, it is advisable to remove all outer clothing."

"What?" I said going an even deeper shade of red. I shrugged "Well, I'll risk it." And through the night we worked on my Navi until about 2AM both of us forgoing dinner. By the time I put the outer shell back together Jenn was already asleep on my bed. Figuring how tired she was I decided to just let her sleep; besides she looked so cute asleep. WHAT? What was I thinking? There was no way she and I could… But what if? I fell slowly into sleep though my mind was racing, and had constant dreams of Jenn.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 04

"Matt, wake up you'll be late for school." Someone said. Strange though no one woke me up if I slept late. I opened my eyes to see Jenn standing over me with a smile on her face. "So that's why you're always late, huh? Why are you blushing?" The truth was I just had a dream in which I was basically sucking face with her. I noticed then she was in clothes that belonged to me, green cargo pants and a black shirt with the word "_THINK_" Engraved on it. Oddly enough they fit her perfectly. "Jenn, why are you dressed in my clothes?"

"Because, I felt so grimy and your clothes fit me so…" I slapped my forehead once again imagining a sweatdrop descending down the back of my head. I could just imagine the lecture I would get after I came home from school. "What's the matter, Matt afraid your parents will think the both of us got naughty last night." Blushing once again I just said, "Just make sure you've got all your clothes. The last thing I want my mom finding is your panties under my bed or something." The thought crossed my mind that maybe I should change too, I hadn't changed out of my club-going clothes, proceeding straight to the Navi after I came home. Voicing this thought to Jenn she said, "Okay, just hurry up your mom made breakfast."

"What? But Mom never makes breakfast."

Jenn shrugged "She did today."

In about an half-hour Jenn and me were walking up the path that took us directly to school. "So Matt, did I look cute asleep?" My head whipped around so fast my neck cracked. "…Or were you so focused on the navi that you didn't notice? Either way I think it's cool when guys can stay that focused on something." She said flashing a smile that made the blush creep further up my neck. Running ahead to go to class I looked after her, for once in my life not sure of my feelings.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 05

A few months went by, and I found myself growing more and more hooked on two things in my life. My Navi and Jenn. Jenn and me spent most of our free time together without the accompaniment of Nick and Ben. Meanwhile back at home my Navi grew more and more advanced with each passing day until my room just became one giant supercomputer. The more advanced my Navi grew, the more driven I was to solve the mystery of Lain and the Knights. One night Jenn and me were walking down the shopping district of Cleveland, both enjoying ice cream cones, which I bought. We were about halfway to my house when my cellphone rang in my pocket. Looking at the small screen I recognized the number as one of my top informants outside of the wired.

Snapping it open I said "Make it quick, I'm kinda in the middle of something."

"Alright, but there's something you should check out as soon as you can. Tonight if possible."

"Can it be tomorrow, I gonna kinda have a guest over tonight and…"

"NO IT CAN'T WAIT!"

I feel silent as he explained to me the creator of some human experimentation might know something on Lain, but the problem was the guy was on his deathbed and wasn't expected to make it through the night. Sighing as I closed my phone I turned to Jenn and disappointedly said "Sorry, but I might be busy when we get to my place. I got a new clue as to solving this Lain mystery…" I trailed off as a thought just sprung into my head "Hey, I just figured out how to transfer a human mind into the wired, if I can fix another headset do you want to come with me."

After a brief seconds thought she said "Sure, But we're still watching anime afterwards." She said with her bright, contagious smile.

Returning her smile I said, "Would I ever lie to you?" Side by side we set off towards home. Even though I invited her, my brain was full of worries of what she might see; my informant did mention something about human experimentation…

Immediately booting up my navi, I constructed a new headset in all of five minutes. In a few more minutes we were walking down a cathedral highway, when I heard a familiar hissing, like a snake laughing. Jenn seemed uneasy but after giving her a reassuring smile I called into the darkness.

"Hello, Cheshire Cat." In the void before us a sneering mouth appeared with the finesse of a Special Olympics ice skater.

"So it seems the great Matt has company today, I'm here to give information, not tell you people the hottest dating spots in Ohio."

"Stuff it. I take it you tapped the call my informant and me had. Stop pussyfooting around and take me to get this guy already."

"Um, Matt…Where exactly are we going?" Said Jenn in a timid voice unlike her own.

Don't worry about it." I said in gentle tones "There's nothing dangerous, and besides I'll protect you if something happens." I said smiling at her. I took her hand and squeezed tightly to reassure her. She seemed to feel better, but something was still bothering her, as I could tell. A doorway opened before us and I walked in with Jenn trailing behind me. I emerged into a hospital room where the old man's life was measured in ghostly green lines. He smiled at us as though he was expecting us.

"Old man, I've come to ask you something, about human experimentation." I said wasting no time. The old man's enigmatic smile didn't fade as he opened his mouth to tell his story; the world around us shifted to a bioresearch lab.


End file.
